The Marvel Cinematic Universe is reaching a climax. Avengers: Infinity War and the untitled fourth Avengers film will cap off “Phase 3” of Marvel Studios’ gigantic plans, and close out 11 years of feature film storytelling. Speaking with JoBlo, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige had a simple answer when asked if the upcoming film would be the closing chapter for some some key players in the MCU, saying: “Yes.”
He elaborated further, saying, “We have another two years of hard work to even finish these movies, and they [the actors] have a lot of hard work to do, so that’s all we’re thinking about, is completing those and delivering on the promise of those. Where it goes beyond that, we’ll see.”
Little is known about what will follow the fourth Avengers movie and ultimately what will make up Marvel’s Phase 4. We do know the first film after Avengers 4 is the upcoming Spider-Man sequel, which Feige confirmed to io9 will be the first Phase 4 movie and it will be greatly affected by those films.
“So much happens in [the 3rd and 4th Avengers movies], as you can imagine, and so much is affected by it that we felt what better person to hold your hand and lead you into the next incarnation of the MCU, in a grounded, realistic manner, than Peter Parker? So, coming out two months after Untitled Avengers, [that’s what] much of what the next Spider-Man film will be about…It was purposefully done like this. Like how the events of Captain America: Civil War impacted Peter as he was dropped off by Tony and expected to go back to continue his sophomore year, how the hell are the events of Infinity War and Untitled [Avengers] going to affect him as he, yes, goes back to his junior year?”
In further Spider-Man news, Feige and Spider-Man: Homecoming producer Amy Pascal clarified her remarks from last week where she referred to Sony’s Venom and Silver Sable/Black Cat spin-offs as “adjunct” to Homecoming, saying:
“Here’s what we’re doing: all these characters are a part of the Marvel comic book universe,” Pascal tells Comic Book. “In that universe, they are all related to each other. Kevin [Feige] makes characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These characters are separate, except for Spidey, who belongs in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is why he’s there.”
When asked if Venom would eventually crawl his way into the MCU, Feige uttered his famous: “We never say never.”
It remains to be seen what will happen with Sony’s planned Spidey spin-offs, as a previous report noted that star Tom Holland may appear in the films, but check back here for further announcements on them as we learn them!
Before Infinity War begins, however, we’ve still got quite a few exciting entries in Marvel Phase 3. Marvel closes out 2017 with November 3rd’s Thor: Ragnarok, set to team up Thor with the Incredible Hulk! in 2018, it’s off to Wakanda on February 16 for Black Panther. Then Infinity War hits on May 4th. Between Infinity War and its follow-up, fans get Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6, 2018 and Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson, on March 8, 2019. Then Marvel Phase 3 concludes with the untitled Infinity War follow-up on May 3, 2019. The Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel will arrive to kick of Marvel Phase 4 on July 5, 2019.
